Gerry Goffin, one of America's great lyricists, dead at 75

You may not be familiar with the name, but you probably know many of his songs. Gerry Goffin was one of America’s premiere lyricists, responsible for seven No. 1 songs and almost sixty Top 40 hits. He died Thursday of natural causes in his Los Angeles home. His wife Michele, whom he married in 1995, confirmed his death.

Goffin attained initial and lasting fame with his work with Carole King, his first wife.

Working out of the legendary Brill Building songwriting collective in Manhattan, Goffin and King scored their first hit with “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow,” a No. 1 song for The Shirelles in 1961. The two worked hand in glove, turning out gems like “Up On The Roof,” “Take Good Care Of My Baby,” and “The Loco-Motion.”

The hits kept coming: “Pleasant Valley Sunday” made famous by The Monkees, and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” made timeless by Aretha Franklin. You may be forgiven for thinking that “You’ve Got A Friend” is a James Taylor song, but it, too, is credited to Goffin/King.  

King and Goffin continued collaborating after their divorce in 1968, a testament to the quality of their work. The two were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. “Gerry Goffin was my first love,” King said in a statement Thursday. “His legacy to me is our two daughters, four grandchildren, and our songs that have touched millions and millions of people, as well as a lifelong friendship.”

Gerry Goffin was born in Brooklyn, New York, on Feb. 11, 1939. He joined the Marine Corps Reserve after high school and went on to study chemistry at Queens College, but what he always did best was write an evocative and resonant lyric.

"His words expressed what so many people were feeling but didn't know how to say," King’s statement continues. "If you want to join his loved ones in honoring him, look at the names of the songwriters under the titles of songs.  Among the titles associated with me, you'll often find Gerry's name next to mine.”

Goffin and King married young: he was 20 and she was 17. In 2001, Goffin described his early relationship with King to Vanity Fair: “She was interested in writing rock 'n' roll, and I was interested in writing this Broadway play. So we had an agreement where she would write (music) to the play if I would write (lyrics) to some of her rock 'n' roll melodies.” 

Goffin soon lost interest in his play, but they both quit their day jobs. Together they helped build the Great American Songbook of the latter half of the 20th century, mirroring the success and professional attainment typified by some of their predecessors, Irving Berlin, George and Ira Gershwin, and Cole Porter. However, the avenues of expression for Goffin and King were not show tunes and novelty numbers, but the early forms of soul and rock and roll. They identified the exact point where these different musical styles intersected with pop, and preserved it beautifully with memorable melodies and a well-crafted lyric.

It’s no good thinking about Goffin’s words without the music. Consider the fantastic melodic lift in the bridge for “Up On The Roof,” and how, for the first time, the lonely and isolated singer of the song invites his loved one to join him:

At night, the stars put on a show for free

And darling, you can share it all with me

It’s a simple couplet — simple enough to cut through an AM radio speaker and into the ears of a disaffected teenager, but surrounded by the context of King’s soaring music, it’s wondrous.

Their relationship wasn’t always easy. In “A Natural Woman: A Memoir”, King writes that Gerry developed manic depression after taking LSD in the 1960s, and underwent treatments that included electroshock therapy.  

Goffin had success with other collaborators in the ensuing years, most notably with Michael Masser. Their “Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To)” for the 1975 movie “Mahogany” was a huge hit for Diana Ross and nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song. They scored a Grammy in 1986 for “Saving All My Love For You,” recorded by Whitney Houston.  

“Gerry was one of the greatest lyricists of all time and my true soul brother," said Barry Goldberg, another Goffin collaborator, in a statement. "I was privileged to have had him in my personal and professional life."

The early 1960s — the time before the vaunted British Invasion— is seen as a fallow period in American music history. Goffin’s work is the great refutation of that argument. His sensitivity and wit fed the pop charts even as it informed songwriters for generations to come — even the Beatles, who covered the Goffin/King hit “Chains.”

“Gerry was a good man and a dynamic force, whose words and creative influence will resonate for generations to come,” wrote King. “He will be missed by his wonderful wife Michele, his devoted manager, Christine Russell, his five children, and six grandchildren.”